[VIDEO] Walgreens Employee Fired For Defending Himself With Firearm During Armed Robbery Attempt (Old News, Still Relevant)

A few articles have been circulating the interwebs that talk about a Walgreens robbery that occurred in 2011. We aren’t exactly sure why it’s making the rounds again, but it is.

During the armed robbery, the pharmacist drew his concealed carry firearm and fired at the robbers, effectively sending them in the other direction and out of the store.

The pharmacist, Jeremy Hoven, was then fired from Walgreens for not adhering to the companies policy of not carrying a firearm while at work.

(From ABC News) Though Hoven was licensed by the state of Michigan to carry a gun, Walgreen discourages its pharmacists from packing pistols. A spokeswoman for the drug chain told ABC News in an email that while Walgreens would not be able to disclose its policies, they were written to protect the safety of customers and employees. “Store employees receive comprehensive training on our robbery procedures and how to react and respond,” she wrote. Walgreens’ approach is “endorsed by law enforcement, which strongly advises against confrontation of crime suspects. Compromise is safer.”

So, why are we reporting on this if it’s 3 years old? After we realized that this ‘new’ article was resurrected from a few years ago, we thought it’d be a good idea to follow up on it to see how things turned out.

They didn’t turn out well for Jeremy Hoven.

Shortly after being terminated, Hoven filed suit against Walgreens for wrongful termination. Through our research, it was quickly discovered that he lost the case against his former employer.

The CPLA (Michigan’s Concealed Pistol Licensing Act) says that an employer shall not prohibit an employee for receiving and carrying a concealed weapon, but also says the law “does not prohibit an employer from prohibiting an employee from carrying a concealed pistol in the course of his or her employment with that employer.”

Further inspection of this case seems to reveal that Walgreens still has the same policies in place in regards to employees carrying firearms: they can’t.

Hoven obtained his concealed carry permit after his first encounter with an armed robbery at a Walgreens. It is not clear whether it was the same location, but Hoven did the right thing by taking the steps necessary to protect himself and others in case a robbery were to occur again.

Walgreens is certainly taking some heat for this old article on their Facebook page, as they should considering that their policies seem to remain the same.